It takes a hell of a lot work to make a great dance movie. Just ask the take-no-prisoners crews who provide the mind-blowing moves for the upcoming Battle of The Year — which opens in theaters Sept 20th — and then you’ll see what goes on behind the glitz and legwarmers can be just as interesting as what’s happening in front of the camera.

Today’s we’re letting you in on some of the biggest secrets from behind the scenes of our fave dance movies of all time.

Check ‘em out – then while you’re settling into your seat for Battle of the Year¬ –amaze and delight your friends with your dance movie knowledge!

It seems to us that a truly great dance movie comes around about every two years (trust us – we know math) and that means we’re about due. BATTLE OF THE YEAR (Watch the trailer here and prepare to be blown away) is out September 20th, and that seems like a definite contender. Until then, we present you our definitive list of the best 15 dance movies of the past 30 years.

Black Swan star Natalie Portman surprised everyone when she announced Monday morning that she is engaged to boyfriend Benajmin Millepied and is expecting her first child with him – but who exactly is Benjamin and how did he manage to win over the heart of one of the most talented young actresses in Hollywood? Celebuzz did some digging and found out all you need to know about the future Mr. Natalie Portman.

Who Is Benajmin?

Originally born in Bordeaux, France, the 33-year-old Benjamin is a principal dancer at the prestigious New York City Ballet. While he may not be an A-lister in the celebrity world, he is a well-known star in the world of ballet thanks to his years of work as a dancer and choreographer.

Check out Benjamin dancing with Ula Sickle in “Phrases Now” below.

How Did He Meet Natalie?

Benjamin met Natalie in 2009 when he served as choreographer for Black Swan. Eventually, he found himself on the other side of the camera when he was enlisted to play the part of Natalie and co-star Mila Kunis‘ dance partner. While he only had six lines total, Benjamin said he was “blown away” by Natalie and the other actors’ talent.

Benjamin’s mother owned a dance school in France, so it was only natural that he would turn to ballet at a young age. Benjamin eventually trained with the Conservatoire National in Lyon, France and entered the School of American Ballet when he was 16. Eventually, he landed a spot on New York City Ballet and, at 18, became one of the company’s brightest young stars.

But Wait, Isn’t Ballet Not Very…Masculine? Pfft! Haven’t you ever heard of Mikhail Baryshnikov? In fact, Benjamin was partly inspired by the famed dancer-cum-actor to enter the dance world. “In France, ballet is on TV,” Benjamin told Details, “It’s a cool thing to be a dancer.” With his tattoos (Bauhaus black tats on his abs) and scruffy good looks, he certainly brings a fresh burst of hipness to ballet. Still doubting Benjamin’s masculinity? Check out these hot pictures of him flexing his toned muscles in Details.

How Does Natalie Feel About Working With (And Dating) Benjamin?

“He knows how to change when things aren’t working well,” Natalie recently told People. “Sometimes I just couldn’t do something. No matter how hard I worked, I couldn’t do it. He would fix it to make it something that I could do.”

Want to see where Natalie and Benjamin’s love began? Check out the trailer for Black Swan below.

What do you think of Natalie’s future husband? Share your thoughts in the comments.

]]>http://www.celebuzz.com/2010-12-22/mila-kunis-does-lunch-photos/feed/0SAG Nominees Announced; ‘Black Swan’ Dominateshttp://www.celebuzz.com/2010-12-16/sag-nominees-announced-black-swan-dominates/
http://www.celebuzz.com/2010-12-16/sag-nominees-announced-black-swan-dominates/#commentsThu, 16 Dec 2010 10:38:28 +0000?p=5455522Award season is officially in full swing with the release of the Screen Actor’s Guild nominations, and for the most part, they pretty much parallel this week’s Golden Globe nominations.

Again, Black Swan and The King’s Speech rule the roost with four nominations each while Modern Family, Glee and Mad Men rule the telelvision noms.

The SAG nominations come right on the tail of the Globes, and Rosario Dawson and Angie Harmon were on deck to announce the nominees.

Congrats to all the nominees! And if you want check out the full list, head over to JustJared.

Who will you be rooting for? Let us know in the comments!

]]>http://www.celebuzz.com/2010-12-16/sag-nominees-announced-black-swan-dominates/feed/0‘Social Network,’ ‘Glee’ Rule Golden Globeshttp://www.celebuzz.com/2010-12-14/social-network-glee-rule-golden-globes/
http://www.celebuzz.com/2010-12-14/social-network-glee-rule-golden-globes/#commentsTue, 14 Dec 2010 06:18:18 +0000?p=5454652Facebook nerds, ballerinas and choir kids ruled the nominations for the 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards on Tuesday, as The Social Network and Black Swan emerged as leaders in the movie categories and Glee popped up all over the TV realm.

Both The Social Network (aka The Facebook Movie) and dancing drama Black Swan scored Golden Globe nominations for Best Picture, with stars from both movies landing acting nods. Jesse Eisenberg, who played Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, is nominated for Lead Actor while his on-screen frenemy (and Celebuzz crush) Andrew Garfield landed a nomination for Supporting Actor. Absent from the nominee list was Justin Timberlake, who was reportedly gunning for awards season love.

The men of The Social Network will face off against the ladies of Black Swan, as Natalie Portmanand Mila Kunisgot Golden Globe love for Lead and Supporting Actress respectively.

Newbies no more, the Glee kids will be singing a joyful tune after dominating the major TV categories. Diva Lea Michele nabbed a nomination for Best Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy. Nerdy rapping clearly paid off for her on-screen teacher Matthew Morrison, who scored a nomination for Best Actor in a TV Series. Scene-stealers Jane Lynchand Chris Colfer (rightfully!) were recognized in the supporting actress and actor categories.

Worth noting are the super-hot contenders of the Best Actor in a Motion Picture- Drama category, which includes James Franco for 127 Hours and Ryan Goslingfor Blue Valentine.

The Golden Globes – one of Hollywood’s most fascinatingly fun awards shows! – airs January 16 on NBC.

Recall the drama of The Social Network and a favorite scene from Glee below and tell us in the comments - who are you rooting for at the Golden Globes?

This Friday, December 3 will mark a momentous clash at the box office, an unprecedented event that will draw a lasting line in the sand: Do moviegoers prefer to see man-on-man kisses or girl-on-girl?

That’s the question being asked by Hollywood this weekend in the shadow of I Love You Phillip Morris and Black Swan, both out Friday and both featuring highly publicized same-sex hookups between their lead actors.

Jim Carrey spoke jokingly to Parade about his emotions surrounding kissing on-screen lover Ewan McGregor for Phillip Morris: “A dream come true. I mean, look at the guy. I have to say, he is a great kisser. As Ewan said, ‘When you’re kissing another guy it can get a little prickly.’ Actually, you had to put out of your mind your own sexual preference and just try to understand that you were loving another person who just happens to be a guy. It wasn’t about male or female, love is love.”

Although originally meant for release in 2009, the film’s date was postponed several times by distributers because of uncertainty about how American audiences would react to the gay aspects of the film. Ultimately, it was re-edited to remove the more explicit content.

Black Swan takes the same-sex mingling a step further with a full-on sex scene between Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis. In a separate interview with Parade, Kunis revealed what filming the scene was like: “We knew it was going to attract attention. We were just hoping that people would walk away after seeing the movie not just isolating in their memory that scene when we have sex. I think it’s important to the story. It wasn’t done for shock value, but we weren’t looking forward to it.”

Sundance winner Winter’s Bone leads the charge with the ceremony’s most nominations. Danny Boyle‘s fan favorite 127 Hours, his first since Slumdog Millionaire ruled the Oscars in 2008, is sure to gather steam, as is the highly anticipated ballet thriller Black Swan which comes out on Friday. The Kids Are All Right and Greenberg also scored nods for Best Feature.

The chilling music video released by Apple (via Movieline) finds ballerina Natalie feuding with Mila Kunis, shrieking in darkened rehearsal rooms and donning terrifying stage makeup, suggesting that the thriller from director Darren Aronofsky has a hefty horror component. Nevertheless, Natalie’s elegant ballet skills are looking quite solid, thanks to her ballerino boyfriend, Benjamin Millepied, who served as a choreographer on the film.

Check out the video below and tell us in the comments – do you want to see Black Swan?

The stars were out Thursday night at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood for the premiere of Darren Aronofsky‘s latest flick Black Swan, starring Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis.

On the rumor that the two leads got drunk prior to shooting the film’s lesbian sex scene, Kunis told People, “False! There was no tequila! Not sure where that rumor came from, but it’s false. I don’t think we could have done that scene if we were intoxicated,” adding that she lost 20 pounds for the role.

What do you think about the Black Swan cast on the red carpet? Tell us in the comments section.

Now here’s a couple you don’t see splashed in the tabloids every da. Natalie Portman and her boyfriend, French ballet dancer Benjamin Millepied, went on a shopping trip in Los Angeles on August 25.

Portman and Millepied met on the set of her upcoming thriller, Black Swan, in which Natalie smoochesMila Kunis and in which Millepied served as choreographer.

Click here for more photos of Natalie and Benjamin. What do you think of Natalie’s jorts-tights-and-sneakers combo? Play fashion critic in the comments. For more star sightings, check out Paparazzi-Razzi.

USA Today has published the first image of Portman in Darren Aronofsky‘s upcoming psychological thriller, Black Swan, and obviously this is a side of the V for Vendetta beauty the world hasn’t seen before.

Set amid the world of ballet in New York City, the film—which co-stars Mila Kunis, Winona Ryder and Sebastian Stan—explores the rivalry between a veteran ballerina (Ryder) and a newcomer, Nina (Portman), and the twisted lengths they go to in their battle for the spotlight.

What do you think of Portman’s new look? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

The Wrestler director Darren Aronofsky‘s upcoming film Black Swan is shaping up to be quite the intriguing affair.

Slash Film reports that Girl, Interrupted actress Winona Ryder has signed on for the supernatural thriller, which begins filming in New York in a few weeks and follows the intrigue of competing dancers in the New York City Ballet.

As dedicated cinema fans already know, the film will also star Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, who will reportedly engage in an “angry, aggressive” sex scene together.

Will Winona, who’ll reportedly play a dancer who’s “near the end of her career,” get in on the action?

One thing’s for sure; Portman and Kunis should be careful that Ryder doesn’t steal the show. Because word is she has a little bit of experience in that sort of thing…

The movie, which is being directed by The Wrestler‘s Darren Aranofsky, focuses on a dancer with a New York ballet troupe, and the in-fighting and back-stabbing over the lead role in an upcoming production of Swan Lake.

But forget about the plot. Allegedly, Portman and Kunis are going to have some “Aggressive, Angry Sex” in the film. Yes, you’re reading that right.

In an interview last week for the opening of her new film Extract, Kunis remained mum on the details, but did not deny that the scene would be happening. “I’m not allowed to talk about the script yet, but I’m excited to work with Natalie. I’ve known her for some time,” she said.

She did, however, dish on her strict exercise routine to get her in tip-top ballet shape.

“I’ve been studying for the past month, 7 days a week, 4-5 hours a day of doing ballet cardio and pilates and I have 2 more months before choreography begins. This ballet I’m doing you can’t fake it,” she explained. “Your body has to be structured differently, your hips have to be turned out, your shoulders have to be turned in, everything in your body is not natural, so I’m learning everyday.”

Let us know in the comments section: Will you be checking out the Black Swan when it hits theatres?

“Can I just tell you why none of my review matters? Can I just tell you why my review is absolutely pointless? Because in this movie, Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis have sex,” the review reads. “Yeah. You read that right. And not just nice sweet innocent sex either. We’re talking ecstasy-induced hungry aggressive angry sex. Yeah so…this movie is already on the must-see list of 2010.”

Excuse us for a moment; we seem to have come down with a case of the vapors.

The movie, which is being directed by The Wrestler‘s Darren Aranofsky, focuses on a dancer with a New York ballet troupe, and the in-fighting and back-stabbing over the lead role in an upcoming production of Swan Lake.

Let us know in the comments section: Can the promise of a Natalie Portman/Mila Kunis sex scene make you go see a movie about ballet?

In the Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler) film, Portman plays a veteran ballerina competing against a rival dancer (Kunis) in an upcoming dance performance. The thing is, Mila may or not be a real person.

The film begins filming in NYC in the fall.

Have your say in the comments section: What do you think about the matchup of Mila and Natalie and, more importantly, will the two have an epic catfight?